1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technology that distributes a liquid such as ink.
2. Related Art
In a liquid discharge apparatus that discharges ink from nozzles that communicate with pressure chambers provided in a liquid discharge head by changing the pressure inside each pressure chamber, there is a risk of incomplete discharge from a nozzle occurring because of a bubble having entered a common liquid chamber that communicates with a plurality of pressure chambers so as to supply ink. Therefore, technologies that expel ink from nozzles to expel bubbles with flows of ink during maintenance have been proposed. For example, in JP-A-2015-30153, taking it into account that the longer and narrower the internal space (flow path) of a common liquid chamber is made in a direction in which ink supply openings to pressure chambers are aligned, the more easily bubbles reside, the flow speed of ink is made relatively high at end portions of the common liquid chamber in the alignment direction of the ink supply openings to the pressure chambers at the time of expelling ink from the nozzles during maintenance, so that bubbles are easily expelled with flows of ink.
However, the local increase of the flow speed of ink at the end portions of the common liquid chamber in the alignment direction of the ink supply openings to the pressure chambers as in JP-A-2015-30153 does not necessarily cause bubbles residing at locations other than the end portions (e.g., in a central portion) to be easily expelled. Increasing the amount of ink discharged from the nozzle during maintenance will increase the overall flow speed of ink in the common liquid chamber and therefore will more easily expel bubbles. However, this will result in increased amounts of ink expelled for maintenance.